The slow recovery is leading many developers to examine growth alternatives to new development. Consider, for example, Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co.’s idea: invest in distressed properties with excellent real estate and redevelop into new and ambitious concepts. Examples include The Shops at Napa Center in Napa, Calif., and Victory Park in Dallas.

The Shops at Napa Center

In 2013, Trademark formed a joint venture with Zapolski Real Estate, which has offices in Napa, Calif., and Durham, N.C., to redevelop the former Napa Town Center.

Generations after people deserted cities for the suburbs, young millennial-generation adults and older baby-boomer adults are moving back downtown.

Retailers aren't far behind, and new, seemingly instant neighborhoods — complete with housing, retail, offices and other forms of real estate — are springing up in redevelopment areas of cities across the country.

Solutions Spotlight

The responsibilities of the retail CIO can essentially be boiled down to four major roles: Business Transformer, Customer Expert and Advocate, Technology Visionary and Culture Warrior. In this e-book, Oracle chief communications officer Bob Evans examines how great retail CIOs rise to challenges of fulfilling each role, even as they inevitably gravitate toward one role over the others.